Contents

Matthias Lehner (an anagram of Arthas Menethil) first appears when the player finds a strange object far beneath Icecrown Citadel. Matthias Lehner then shows the player seminal events in the life of Arthas Menethil: the slaughtering of his own soldiers after taking up Frostmourne, the raising of Sindragosa, and the battle between Arthas and Illidan Stormrage.

It is eventually revealed that the strange object is the frozen heart of Arthas. When this information is presented to Tirion Fordring, he believes the heart can be used to help redeem Arthas and thus defeat the Lich King. Tirion Fordring infiltrates the ceremony where the heart is to be destroyed, along with a cadre of his knights. Unexpectedly, the Lich King arrives at the ceremony and immediately identifies Tirion through his disguise. The Lich King beckons Tirion to stare into the frozen heart. Tirion decides that there is no chance to redeem Arthas, and destroys the heart himself. This process nearly kills Tirion, and drastically weakens the Lich King. Before the Lich King's minions can overwhelm Tirion, the Knights of the Ebon Blade arrive led by Darion Mograine himself. They subdue the Lich King's minions and flee with Tirion before they suffer the Lich King's wrath.

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Not much is known about Matthias. It is speculated by some that he is the embodiment of Arthas' humanity, which was banished when the Prince took to the Frozen Throne and became the Lich King, the name "Matthias Lehner" being an anagram for "Arthas Menethil." This theory gains support if the player reads the Warcraft novel Arthas: Rise of the Lich King in which an unnamed blond-haired boy exists in Arthas' mind, urging him to reject Ner'zhul's influence.

Another theory supposes that he may be an illusion of Yogg-Saron or some other entity, whose intent is to cause harm to the Lich King via players destroying his heart. This theory's mostly based on the fact that he encourages players to gather friends when they are going after the heart during the quest Knowledge is a Terrible Burden.